Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi folks,

 

I have a Toro 1028 xle for about 5 years that has always worked perfectly.  Halway into the second big storm of this year, the wheels stopped turning.  Motor still runs fine, and it still throws snow fine as well.  When you press down on the drive control, it seems to catch for a split second, but then the wheels don’t turn.  I stopped by my dealer to ask about it, and he said it was probably water that had melted and gotten down in the mechanism and frozen, and once it thawed, it would be fine.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  Any ideas on what else it could possibly be?  Are there any diagrams available that show the mechanics of this?  I did a google search, but could not find anything.  I’m not very mechanical at all, but would be willing to try something.

 

Since it’s still throwing snow, I’d hate to leave it in the shop for a while, waiting for them to get to it.  Thanks for any advice.

I'm not familiar with Toros however, some features a very much similar from make to make. 

Turn the fuel supply off and run the engine until it stops.

Push the machine forward to rest on the bucket (maintenance position) and pull the plate off the bottom of the  machine.   Look to see if there's a pin or bolt running through the axle and a sleeve over the axle that locks the wheels to the drive system.   If the pin/bolt is sheared, replace it with a bolt of the same size but harder steel.  

I had a Craftsman that broke the wheel drive shear bolt twice.  I put in a grade 10 bolt and never had a problem with it thereafter. 

Thanks very much to both of you for replying.  I will look on the Toro website for that when I get home.   Also, I had no idea to flip the blower forward onto the bucket to look at this.  That will make looking at it so much easier, thanks a lot.  It's amazing the little simple things that people like me don't know that make things so much easier.

This guy has some good videos on repairs.

http://www.youtube.com/user/donyboy73

A search on his channel for friction will show how to replace and adjust friction wheels on some blowers.
Most of what he works on is MTD, but it should still give you a general idea of how it works.

jake14mw wrote:

If you have a fuel shut off I for one would cut off the gas supply to the carb , start it and run till she cuts off on her own and then flip it onto the bucket. This way no chance of leaking fuel all over while you explore. Just my 2 cents.

hirschallan wrote:
The problem is gas leaking out of the vent in the gas cap also.

What has always worked for me is to pull off the gas cap, fold (to get double thickness) a piece of Saran wrap and lay it over the top of the tank, then put the cap back on tight. That'll stop it from dripping for the amount of time it'll take to do most things underneath.

Bill_H wrote:

+2